Syrian Arab Republic

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This article is about the modern state of Syria. For other uses, see Syrian Arab Republic (disambiguation).

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Syrian Arab Republic

الجمهورية العربية السورية (Arabic)
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah
Flag of Syria
Flag
Coat of arms of Syria
Coat of arms
Motto: وَحْدَةٌ ، حُرِّيَّةٌ ، اِشْتِرَاكِيَّةٌ
Waḥdah, Ḥurrīyah, Ishtirākīyah
"Unity, Freedom, Socialism"
Anthem: حُمَاةَ الدِّيَارِ
Ḥumāt ad-Diyār
"Guardians of the Homeland"
Syria (orthographic projection) disputed.svg
Syria in dark green, claim to much of Turkey's Hatay Province and Israeli-occupied Golan Heights shown in light green
Syria - Location Map (2013) - SYR - UNOCHA.svg
Capital
and largest city
 Damascus
33°30′N 36°18′E
Official languages Arabic[1]
Ethnic groups
(2018[2])
 75% Arabs
10% Kurds
15% Others (including Turkomans, Assyrians, Circassians, Armenians and others)[2][3]
Religion
87% Islam
10% Christianity[2]
3% Druze
Demonym(s) Syrian
Government Unitary semi-presidential republic[4] under a totalitarian[5] hereditary dictatorship
• President
Bashar al-Assad
Najah al-Attar
Hussein Arnous
Hammouda Sabbagh
Legislature People's Assembly
Establishment
8 March 1920
1 December 1924
14 May 1930
• De jure Independence
24 October 1945
• De facto Independence
17 April 1946
• Left the United Arab Republic
28 September 1961
8 March 1963
27 February 2012
Area
• Total
 185,180[6] km2 (71,500 sq mi) (87th)
• Water (%)
 1.1
Population
• 2022 estimate
 29,310,000 [7] (50th)
• Density
 118.3/km2 (306.4/sq mi) (70th)
GDP (PPP) 2022 estimate
• Total
 Increase $623.72 billion[8]
• Per capita
 Increase $21,280 [8]
GDP (nominal) 2022 estimate
• Total
 Increase $468.96 billion[8]
• Per capita
 Increase $16,000
Gini (2014) 38.8[9]
medium
HDI (2022) Increase 0.777[10]
high
Currency Syrian pound (SYP)
Time zone UTC+3
Driving side right
Calling code +963
ISO 3166 code SY
Internet TLD .sy
سوريا.

Syria (Arabic: سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة‎, translit. Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية‎, translit. al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions), and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Circassians,[11] Armenians, Albanians, Greeks, and Chechens. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis. The capital and largest city of Syria is Damascus. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunni Muslims are the largest religious group. Syria is the only country that is governed by Ba'athists, who advocate Arab socialism and Arab nationalism. Syria is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region, broadly synonymous with the Levant,[12] and known in Arabic as al-Sham. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.[13] In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule. After a period as a French mandate (1923–1946), the newly-created state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a democratic parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when the Republic of Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French mandate (although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946).

The post-independence period was tumultuous, with multiple military coups and coup attempts shaking the country between 1949 and 1971. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic, which was terminated by the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. The republic was renamed as the Arab Republic of Syria in late 1961 after the December 1 constitutional referendum of that year. A significant event was the 1963 coup d'état carried out by the military committee of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party which established a one-party state. It ran Syria under emergency law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending constitutional protections for citizens. Internal power-struggles within neo-Ba'athist factions caused further coups in 1966 and 1970, which eventually resulted in the seizure of power by General Hafez al-Assad. Assad assigned Alawite loyalists to key posts in the armed forces, bureaucracy, Mukhabarat and the ruling elite; effectively establishing an "Alawi minority rule" to consolidate power within his family.[14]

After the death of Hafez al-Assad in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad inherited the presidency and political system centred around a cult of personality to al-Assad family.[15] The Ba'ath regime has been condemned for numerous human rights abuses, including frequent executions of citizens and political prisoners, massive censorship[16][17] and for financing a multi-billion dollar illicit drug trade.[18][19] Following its violent suppression of the Arab Spring protests of the 2011 Syrian Revolution, the Syrian government was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011[20] and quit the Union for the Mediterranean the following month.[21] Since July 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a multi-sided civil war, with the involvement of different countries. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria in August 2012 citing "deep concern at the massacres and inhuman acts" perpetrated by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad.[a] As of 2020, three political entities – the Syrian Interim Government, Syrian Salvation Government, and Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria – have emerged in Syrian territory to challenge Assad's rule.

Syria was ranked last on the Global Peace Index from 2016 to 2018,[23] making it the most violent country in the world due to the war. Syria is the most corrupt country in the MENA region and was ranked the second lowest globally on the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index.[b] The Syrian civil war has killed more than 570,000 people,[24] with pro-Assad forces causing more than 90% of the total civilian casualties.[c] The war led to the Syrian refugee crisis, with an estimated 7.6 million internally displaced people (July 2015 UNHCR figure) and over 5 million refugees (July 2017 registered by UNHCR),[33] making population assessment difficult in recent years. The war has also worsened economic conditions, with more than 90% of the population living in poverty and 80% facing food insecurity.[d]

Etymology

Main article: Name of Syria

Several sources indicate that the name Syria is derived from the 8th century BC Luwian term "Sura/i", and the derivative ancient Greek name: Σύριοι, Sýrioi, or Σύροι, Sýroi, both of which originally derived from Aššūr (Assyria) in northern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq).[38][39] However, from the Seleucid Empire (323–150 BC), this term was also applied to The Levant, and from this point the Greeks applied the term without distinction between the Assyrians of Mesopotamia and Arameans of the Levant.[40][41] Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favors the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, ultimately derived from the Akkadian Aššur.[42] The Greek name appears to correspond to Phoenician ʾšr "Assur", ʾšrym "Assyrians", recorded in the 8th century BC Çineköy inscription.[43]

The area designated by the word has changed over time. Classically, Syria lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, between Arabia to the south and Asia Minor to the north, stretching inland to include parts of Iraq, and having an uncertain border to the northeast that Pliny the Elder describes as including, from west to east, Commagene, Sophene, and Adiabene.[44]

By Pliny's time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into a number of provinces under the Roman Empire (but politically independent from each other): Judaea, later renamed Palaestina in AD 135 (the region corresponding to modern-day Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan) in the extreme southwest; Phoenice (established in AD 194) corresponding to modern Lebanon, Damascus and Homs regions; Coele-Syria (or "Hollow Syria") and south of the Eleutheris river.[45]

  1. ↑ "Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic – 2012" (PDF). International Labour Organization. Retrieved 31 August 2020. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Syria: People and society". The World Factbook. CIA. 10 May 2022. 
  3. ↑ "Largest Ethnic Groups In Syria". WorldAtlas. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2022. 
  4. ↑ "Constitution of Syria 2012". 15 February 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013 – via Scribd. 
  5. ↑
    • Khamis, B. Gold, Vaughn, Sahar, Paul, Katherine (2013). "22. Propaganda in Egypt and Syria's "Cyberwars": Contexts, Actors, Tools, and Tactics". In Auerbach, Castronovo, Jonathan, Russ. The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016: Oxford University Press. p. 422. ISBN 978-0-19-976441-9. 
    • Wieland, Carsten (2018). "6: De-neutralizing Aid: All Roads Lead to Damascus". Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid Through Violent Regimes. 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK: I. B. Tauris. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-7556-4138-3. 
    • Ahmed, Saladdin (2019). Totalitarian Space and the Destruction of Aura. State University of New York Press, Albany: Suny Press. pp. 144, 149. ISBN 9781438472911. 
    • Hensman, Rohini (2018). "7: The Syrian Uprising". Indefensible: Democracy, Counterrevolution, and the Rhetoric of Anti-Imperialism. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1-60846-912-3. 
  6. ↑ "Syrian ministry of foreign affairs". Archived from the original on 2012-05-11.  Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  7. ↑ "Syria population 2022". World Population Review. Retrieved 25 December 2022. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Syria". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 7 April 2021. 
  9. ↑ "World Bank GINI index". World Bank. Retrieved 22 January 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022. 
  11. ↑ Gammer, Moshe (2004). The Caspian Region: The Caucasus. 2. Routledge. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-203-00512-5. 
  12. ↑ Adam (781). Stele to the Propagation in China of the Jingjiao of Daqin. Translated by Wylie, Alexander. 
  13. ↑ "Neolithic Tell Ramad in the Damascus Basin of Syria". Archive. Archived from the original on 11 November 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2013. 
  14. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  15. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  16. ↑ "Syria: Events of 2018". World Report 2019: Rights Trends in Syria. Human Rights Watch. 17 December 2018. 
  17. ↑ "OHCHR | IICISyria Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 2020-10-19. 
  18. ↑ Rose, Söderholm, Caroline, Alexander (April 2022). "The Captagon Threat: A Profile of Illicit Trade, Consumption, and Regional Realities" (PDF). New Lines Institute: 2–39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2022. 
  19. ↑ "Is the Syrian Regime the World's Biggest Drug Dealer?". Vice World News. 14 December 2022. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. 
  20. ↑ MacFarquhar, Neil (12 November 2011). "Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
  21. ↑ "Syria suspends its membership in Mediterranean union". Xinhua News Agency. 1 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011.  Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  22. ↑ "Regional group votes to suspend Syria; rebels claim downing of jet". CNN. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012. 
  23. ↑ "Global Peace Index". Vision of Humanity. Retrieved 2019-10-14. 
  24. ↑ "More than 570 thousand people were killed on the Syrian territory within 8 years of revolution demanding freedom, democracy, justice, and equality". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 15 March 2019. 
  25. ↑ "Assad, Iran, Russia committed 91% of civilian killings in Syria". Middle East Monitor. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. 
  26. ↑ "Civilian Death Toll". SNHR. September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. 
  27. ↑ "91 percent of civilian deaths caused by Syrian regime and Russian forces: rights group". The New Arab. 19 June 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. 
  28. ↑ "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Syria". U.S Department of State. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. 
  29. ↑ "In Syria's Civilian Death Toll, The Islamic State Group, Or ISIS, Is A Far Smaller Threat Than Bashar Assad". SOHR. 11 January 2015. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. 
  30. ↑ "Assad's War on the Syrian People Continues". SOHR. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. 
  31. ↑ Roth, Kenneth (9 January 2017). "Barack Obama's Shaky Legacy on Human Rights". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. 
  32. ↑ "The Regional War in Syria: Summary of Caabu event with Christopher Phillips". Council for Arab-British Understanding. 
  33. ↑ "UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2013.  Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  34. ↑ "Syria: Unprecedented rise in poverty rate, significant shortfall in humanitarian aid funding". Reliefweb. 18 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. 
  35. ↑ "Every Day Counts: Children of Syria cannot wait any longer". unicef. 2022. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. 
  36. ↑ "Hunger, poverty and rising prices: How one family in Syria bears the burden of 11 years of conflict". reliefweb. 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. 
  37. ↑ "UN Chief says 90% of Syrians live below poverty line". 14 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. 
  38. ↑ Rollinger, Robert (2006). "The terms "Assyria" and "Syria" again". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 65 (4): 284–287. doi:10.1086/511103.  Unknown parameter |s2cid= ignored (help)
  39. ↑ Frye, R. N. (1992). "Assyria and Syria: Synonyms". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 51 (4): 281–285. doi:10.1086/373570.  Unknown parameter |s2cid= ignored (help)
  40. ↑ Herodotus. The History of Herodotus (Rawlinson). 
  41. ↑ Joseph, John (2008). "Assyria and Syria: Synonyms?" (PDF). 
  42. ↑ First proposed by Theodor Nöldeke in 1881; cf. Harper, Douglas (November 2001). "Syria". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 13 June 2007. 
  43. ↑ Rollinger, Robert (2006-10-01). "The Terms "Assyria" and "Syria" Again". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 65 (4): 283–287. doi:10.1086/511103. ISSN 0022-2968.  Unknown parameter |s2cid= ignored (help)
  44. ↑ Pliny (March 1998). "Book 5 Section 66". Natural History. 77AD. University of Chicago. ISBN 978-84-249-1901-6. 
  45. ↑ Template:Cite encyclopedia


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